Doctor for Acne

[Elliejane]

Hi
Just wondering about taking my son to see doctor for acne . He is 17 and it’s getting worse . We have tried pretty much everything you can buy yourself . It’s mostly on his cheeks and has horrible white heads also and red inflamed .

Have tried tea tree, Cerave wash (initially helped) ,dots for spots ,salicylic acid various brands , freedmen gel , usual acne products like clearsil etc .

I know nhs is busy but just not sure what else to try . I tried pharmacy and got a cream but told not to use in sunny days so was bit worried over that
any ideas ?

Could maybe book a private dermatologist also ?

He keeps his skin clean and never had issues until last few years but it getting worse .

Ellie

Thanks I have checked you are all right you should only use gel or wash not both so will only do the gel .

what would you say to wash skin with . Want something really gentle ?

If he's developing cysts He really needs some proper treatment such as antibiotics and a referral to dermatology for further treatment considerations. Please take photos to the GP. Both my kids had roaccutane. My daughter had it at 15 and 31. My son said he'd rather have side effects than the horrible acne which made him really low.
I've looked after lots of people who went on roaccutane never had any with serious side effects. The dermatologist my daughter saw when 15 said that she felt kids were more depressed due to the acne and once they saw the improvement with roaccutane their mood improved.

1.5 rounds of roaccutane was great for me.

Please don't dismiss roacutane, it changed my 17yr old sons life. He's 41 now, no spots and no side effects!

Did you think about the face mask with red and blue led light? Use once in morning and put on Nivea soft before bed.

I'm 44 and still have major bacterial breakouts due to not having protective 'film' on my skin. This two things have it almost fixed in 2 days.

Red and blue leds kill the bacteria. The nivea soft acts as a replacement barrier for my skin.

Roaccutane worked for me back in the very late 80s early 90s.
My son then ended up on it for acne 4 years ago.

It's was only for a few months and it's transformative!
Side effects were a few aches and very dry lips.

I think you should reconsider or more to the point your son should have the option to try.

Roaccutane was life changing for me, don’t dismiss it.

Thanks for suggesting the face mask . Which one do you use ? I have read official medical reports that it can be very effective.

His skin is worst it has ever been today. Benzoyl peroxide is not helping at all in fact it is worse . It has been 8-9 weeks on it now .Not sure whether to stop or keep going . Asked a pharmacist today and she said keep going with it .

Got gp mid January. What can I expect them to try next after benzoyl ? Wish never started it

Ellie

DS 17 is getting fantastic results on Duac prescribed by GP. Our GP doesn't go straight to oral antibiotics or refer for roacctutane as first port of call. Which DS is very happy with.

DS was on quite the regime but now GP has said just go with washing with Cerave am & pm. Duac PM. Light oil-free moisturiser with SPF AM.

I've been on everything including oral antibotics and roacctutane (that worked for me until pregnancy) for my hormonal acne but thankfully topical Duac is working well for DS.

Good luck. If no results keep pressing on and going back to GP. There's always options.

Skin tends to get worse before it gets better with some treatments. It could be due to 'purging'. But I would perhaps ring GP in case it is a reaction to benzoyl.

Duac is benzoyl combined with antibiotic. DS didn't have a flare up - purge or reaction. I'm not sure if the anti b made the difference / reduced inflammation that you can get with benzoyl.

Your GP will advise to either continue with benzoyl or switch him to something else.

Sorry just re-read and see he's been on it 8-9 weeks. I would definitely get on to GP to see if they want to change his treatment.

Please think about roaccutane. The reported side effects put me off for a decade, but it was life changing and cleared things up permanently for me. The side effects were ok for me and you can stop at any time if it is too hard. This was after a whole heap of different treatments that didn't work and also had awful side effects. Acne is brutal - so painful and it really affected my self esteem for years. Sympathies!!

thanks everyone . Roaccutane would be the last resort after we tried all other available options . He has not even has a doctor prescription yet . I don’t want to jump ahead when other things might help . Plus we have family history of mental health issues so very wary .

Managed to get gp now for 7 Jan with same gp that said it was mild and to try benzoyl for 3 mths.

He does have a very sweet tooth so I know there is no evidence of sugar but it won’t do him any harm to eat less for a while also

If he cleans up his diet his skin should improve massively. Sugar causes terrible breakouts. Dairy can sometimes be a trigger too.
Id work on the diet before giving him strong medication, especially antibiotics.

It’s a myth that diet (sugar, dairy, carbs, etc) causes acne. The only way it can is if you eat something greasy and leave it smeared on your face clogging the pores.

I recently had a basal cell carcinoma removed by dermatologist. While he was busy with the minor surgery I picked his brains about roaccutane as DD has just started in it. He was so nice, I wish we had known about him and got referred there instead of the time wasting that has gone on with NHS in DD's university town.

He said it's a brilliant drug that is absolutely life changing for the improvement it brings. His (25 year) experience is that it is very safe and he thinks the mental health issues are overstated, he said he's not had any problems in 25 years of prescribing it. His opinion is that some people will have mental health problems independently or occasionally related to poor self esteem and so on due to having poor skin. When something happens bereaved relatives/parents look for something to blame and roaccutane has had a bad press because of this.

DD has been on it about six weeks now and already her skin is vastly improved. I asked her about side effects and she says she's not aware of any except for a bit of dryness. Mentally she is feeling upbeat and positive thanks to the improvement in her skin.

We are using private online SkindocUK - I'm so impressed with them. Daughter sees same dermatologist (online 1:1) who is very sympathetic and encouraging. Just emails any queries and gets a prompt response. Very clear information sheets. She feels really well taken care of, regular blood tests and pregnancy tests (it's teratogenic so mustn't get pregnant while taking it). It's quite affordable, initial appointment was £170 and subsequent are £130 with extra for blood tests and prescriptions.

I second @snackprovidersupreme recommending roaccutane, and really wish I had paid to get DD sorted much sooner.

Thanks for your detailed responses and good to know that if it comes to it so thank you x

Just to add, I felt this way about accurate, put it off for years but I wish I tried it sooner.

It’s a myth that diet (sugar, dairy, carbs, etc) causes acne. The only way it can is if you eat something greasy and leave it smeared on your face clogging the pores.

So you don’t think gut health affects skin?

I know there is no medical evidence that sugar causes acne, but in my son's case cutting out processed foods has really helped. He has had chocolate over Christmas and his skin has got worse, so even if it's just a placebo effect I would say cleaning up diet really helps. He eats lots of fruit and drinks a ton of water.

Pardon? 🤔

Gut health is very complex, there is no consensus at this stage.

My son suffered with acne he's 19 now and it's only improved with Obagi Clenziderm treatment he gets through dermatologist. I didn't want to try the stronger stuff as his mental health isn't great to start with.

I would definitely try and see a dermatologist if you can. My son pays for it himself and now he's found something that works it's not that expensive as he gets it through Get Harley which a pp referred to. Best of luck.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6678709/

Maybe get him to try a probiotic OP.

I know two people who had great results with rouaccutane. I would urge you to kep an open mind